The Avs sent the 2021 first-round pick to San Jose in a trade that brought back two-way forward Danil Gushchin, the team announced on Friday afternoon.

Olausson never found his footing at the NHL level, appearing in just four games total with the Avs after being selected with the 28th overall pick of the NHL draft. That included two games last season in which he logged three shots on goal with zero points.

Gushchin skated with the Sharks on opening night last season and played a total of 12 games with the big club, logging one assist and no goals. He was much more productive with the franchise’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, with 51 points and a career-high 28 goals in 56 games. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound left wing had one goal in four Calder Cup games.

The Yekaterinburg, Russia, native has five points in 18 career NHL games between 2022 and ’25. He has 150 points across 182 AHL contests from 2021-25 and was an All-Star during the 2023-24 season.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Olausson totaled 66 points (33 goals, 33 assists) over 163 games and three seasons with the Colorado Eagles.

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The Avs’ regular-season opener will be quickly followed by a pair of home games against Utah (Oct. 9) and Dallas (Oct. 11) at Ball Arena, kicking off a schedule that concludes with a home game against Seattle on April 16.

The season begins earlier than normal in order to make room for a 20-day break for the Winter Olympics at Milan and Cortina, Italy, in February. The Avs will play 12 back-to-back sets of games, and March is the busiest month on the schedule with 15 total games. A seven-game homestand will run between Jan. 8-23 — the first such homestand since the 2020-21 season.

The Avs are also set to play a franchise-record 18 afternoon games during the regular season, five of which will be at Ball Arena.

Single-game tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., while season tickets and partial deposits are already open. For more information, visit nhl.com/avalanche/tickets.

All 82 games will be available on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM or 950 AM. Altitude TV broadcast dates will be revealed at a later date.

Colorado Avalanche 2025-26 schedule

(Click here to view schedule in mobile.)

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I’m aware no one knows at this point, but I’m interested in your best guess: How many games do you think Landy will play next season, and how many points will he produce?

— thriller1, via Reddit

That has to be one of the biggest questions for the Avalanche when training camp begins: How much will captain Gabe Landeskog play after his dramatic comeback during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs? Here’s what Avs general manager Chris MacFarland said about his captain on July 2:

“For the first time in many, many years, we are going into the offseason with the expectation that Gabe is going to not only play, but play consistently and be able to play well.”

There’s no reason to think Landeskog is just going to come back and play 82 games, or even try to. He did play almost every game in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, but he missed 59 games over the next two years while dealing with knee issues.

Even if the knee is good as new, the Avs will likely try to give him some nights off when there are back-to-back games. Given the Olympic break, there might be a few more of those than usual. There could be other minor issues that crop up as well. There are a lot of joints and muscles beyond his knee that haven’t been through the grind of an NHL schedule in three years.

The most important thing is for him to be as healthy as possible and not worn out in early April. Even if he only plays 20 regular-season games, if he’s available for the playoffs and plays as well as he did against Dallas, that’s all that matters.

The over-under should probably be around 55 games. If Landeskog can avoid other minor injuries, he might push 65-70. If he plays like he did against Dallas, Landeskog could produce at a per-82 game pace of 25 goals and 60 points.

He might not be able to play at quite that level every night in the regular season, but just being a solid second-line guy who helps drive play should be considered a huge success.

Do you guys think the Avs are done changing up the defense corps? If not, who do you think the Avs would target?

— Vivid_Walk_1405, via Reddit

Having four right-handed shots in the top six doesn’t seem ideal. There are a couple of intriguing lefties still on the free-agent market in Jon Merrill and Ryan Suter.

Adding Suter would give the Avs two guys who have already celebrated their 40th birthday, but Suter was solid last year for the Blues. Merrill would also offer some size and he’s been a solid third-pairing guy for a long time.

If the Avs added one of them, would they definitely trade one of the righties? Maybe not. Sam Malinski had a nice first full season in the NHL, but it wouldn’t be the worst idea to start the year with him as the No. 7. He’d still play a lot because of inevitable injuries, and maybe the Avs figure out a way to deploy the four righties effectively and he moves ahead of whoever the third LHD is at some point, anyway.

The Avs were still successful with three smaller guys (Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Malinski) in the top six last season, but Jared Bednar and his staff would probably like to be able to get a little bigger when it matters.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Avs do target a bigger defenseman, either in the next few weeks or ahead of the trade deadline.

What’s the plan/situation with EJ? Does he still want to play or is he mulling over hanging it up and taking a coaching position?

— davesnotonreddit, via Reddit

Erik Johnson said he didn’t come back to Denver to retire when the Avs traded for him, and he said he wanted to keep playing. Right now, it doesn’t look like there are any rooms available at the inn with the Avs.

It’s hard to imagine the Avs would plan to have five right-handed shots in the top eight, and for salary cap purposes, Colorado may plan to only carry seven on the roster. If the Avs move one of the other righties, would it make sense to add him as a No. 7/8 type? Sure.

If he doesn’t sign with another team before camp, could a tryout deal be possible? Sure. If he really wants to keep playing, the Avs might do that and get him in some preseason games to help his cause, even if it’s just a showcase for another team.

Will Jared Bednar healthy scratch Brent Burns for the first game to put the ironman streak to bed and remove any silly pressure to keep him in the lineup all season?

— AllRushMixTapes, via reddit

No. If Burns is healthy early in the season, he’s going to play.

Unless you’ve spent a little too much time reading the thoughts of online Hurricanes fans, there’s not a lot of reason to believe Burns can’t be a solid player for the Avs. There is a big difference between “maybe he shouldn’t play 23 minutes a night as the No. 2 guy” and “he should be a healthy scratch.”

At a minimum, he’s been very good on the penalty kill and should be one of the top three or four guys in PK ice time per game for the Avs. His Net Rating, an all-inclusive metric from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, was plus-6. That was higher than everyone on Colorado’s defense corps last season behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews.

At his age, I wouldn’t expect him to play all 82 games. I’d be surprised if his play is bad enough that the Avs would consider scratching him. He’s 75 games from 1,000 in a row, but 40 would move him into third place and 65 would put him second — and first among all defensemen.

Is there any universe where the front office will allow Martin Necas to start the season without an extension? How far do you think they will reasonably let it go before a trade is inevitable?

— Play-it-again-Milo, via reddit

I think starting the season without one is plausible, so yeah, this universe, maybe. It would be a surprise as of right now if Necas finishes the season without one.

A lot can happen — injuries, better than expected play (or worse), etc. Every situation is different, as Mikko Rantanen and his teammates found out when they all expected him to stay, even if it meant going down to the wire like Landeskog did in 2021.

I think if Necas starts the season without a contract and plays well, the Avs and his agent will figure something out. If the negotiations don’t go well … well, MacFarland has shown everyone that he is willing to hit the eject button.

The best-case scenarios for the Avs are either that Necas agrees to a below-market value contract, or another team offers them a deal they can’t refuse. Somewhere in between could get tricky. If Necas produces like he did during the regular season last year, the chances for a team-friendly contract around the time of the trade deadline might be gone.

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The back-to-back champions play at 3 p.m. MT on Oct. 7 to lead off an opening night tripleheader, the league announced Monday. Florida defeated Edmonton in the teams’ Cup final rematch and is aiming for the NHL’s first threepeat since the New York Islanders’ dynasty from 1980-83.

Also on Oct. 7, the New York Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden at 6 p.m., with the Colorado Avalanche visiting the Los Angeles Kings at 8:30 p.m. MT. Mike Sullivan makes his Rangers coaching debut against the team he guided to the Stanley Cup in 2016 and ’17 and from whom he split after a third consecutive season out of the playoffs.

The remainder of the schedule is set to be released Wednesday. It includes a break for players to participate in the Milan-Cortina Olympics, the NHL’s return to that stage for the first time since 2014.

This is the final 82-game regular season before going to 84 in 2026-27 as part of a collective bargaining agreement extension agreed to and ratified by the league and the Players’ Association. Along with a reduction in exhibition play, that will mean a total of 1,344 games, up from the current 1,312.

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Colorado signed defenseman Josh Manson to a two-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season, the team announced on Thursday. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the extension is for $3.95 million per year.

The extension is tacked on top of the final year of his previous four-year contract, as Manson is due to make $4.5 million in 2025-26 as part of that original deal, according to Spotrac.

Manson was limited to 48 games in 2024-25 due to to injury, but when he’s healthy, the 33-year-old’s been one of the most productive defensemen on the roster outside of Cale Makar. Manson was originally acquired by the Avs in a trade with Anaheim on March 14, 2022.

“Josh has been an important member of our blue line since joining the team during the 2022 stretch run,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. “He is a steady and tough defender who chips in on the offensive side at key times. He is also a veteran leader in our dressing room, and we are excited to have him under contract for another three seasons.”

Manson returned from injury during this past season to appear in all seven playoff games of Colorado’s first-round loss to the Dallas Stars. He had three points in the series, including a goal in each of the final two games.

During the Avs’ run to the 2022 Stanley Cup, Manson was a force. “Manimal” posted career-highs in goals (three), assists (five, which tied his previous high) and points (eight).

In addition to being capable of scoring, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound Manson plays physical. His 443 hits pace the Avs since he debuted with the club in 2022.

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What are the expectations for Zakhar Bardakov this season? Will he see any NHL time, or is he strictly playing for the Eagles?

— John B., Houston 

Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland met with the media three times in short order — after the Charlie Coyle/Miles Wood trade, after the NHL draft ended and after the club signed Brent Burns. He mentioned Zakhar Bardakov as a player the Avs are excited to see in training camp twice.

It was certainly notable. When the GM goes out of his way to mention a player twice, he moves up the list of intriguing players at camp in a hurry. I was covering the Devils when they drafted Bardakov to very little or no fanfare in the seventh round in 2021.

He was similar to Nikita Prishchepov, a Russian overage prospect very late in the draft. The difference was Prishchepov played in the QMHJL, while Bardakov had just finished his first full season of KHL action.

Bardakov didn’t look like a future NHL player after the Devils drafted him. What’s changed? Well, he moved to a better KHL team — SKA Saint Petersburg — and 2024-25 was a breakout season for him. Bardakov nearly doubled his career high in points (35) and nearly matched his total from the previous four years combined in goals (18).

Is he actually going to win a spot on the Avs roster? We’ll see. I think a decent comp for him might be a not-as-fast Miles Wood. Similar in size and a desire to create chaos on the ice. Whether or not that will translate for Bardakov on the smaller ice and in a much faster paced game is to be determined.

Has there been conversation on how/if they will address scoring depth?

— M_Stefski, via Reddit

Who are some guys that could fill the bottom-six forward spots?

— CurrentAmbassador435, via Reddit

If everyone is healthy, the Avs have four obvious guys for the bottom six — Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Logan O’Connor and Parker Kelly. O’Connor is expected to miss the start of the season after hip surgery, but eventually he’ll slot in.

That leaves three spots in the opening-night lineup, and probably a fourth as the extra, up for grabs. The Avs will almost certainly add at least one more forward, if not multiple guys, before camp starts — even if it’s someone on a tryout deal.

It could be a wide-ranging, wide-open competition in training camp. I think Ivan Ivan should be the favorite to lock down one of the jobs, but he’s got to play more like he did at the beginning of the year than he did towards the end after his demotion.

Prishchepov was a nice story last year, but he’s got to prove the handful of solid NHL games he played were not a small-sample burst. Bardakov is clearly going to have a chance to skip the line on some Eagles guys if he looks the part.

Matthew Stienburg might not be a bad bet. Avs coach Jared Bednar took a bit of a liking to him last year before the suspension. He and Bardakov are probably the guys who play the most like typical fourth-line forwards.

If Bednar decides he’s just taking the guys who can help him win right now, Alex Barre-Boulet and Jason Polin could win spots as well. Gavin Brindley has the most upside of the bunch. If things ever click for Oskar Olausson — and this year might be his last chance to make that happen — he could move to the front of this group, but it might take a few strong preseason games before the Avs believe in the improvement.

Any update on Joel Kiviranta? He helps our bottom 6 be strong and would hate to lose him.

— PigletAmazing1422, via Reddit

Of all the guys still on the open market, Kiviranta makes the most sense for the Avs. They know him. Bednar trusts him. So why is he still out on the market?

Kiviranta scored a career-high 16 goals this year. He’s spent the past two years on league-minimum deals, so this was likely his best chance to cash in and get a nice contract. If another team had signed him to a three-year deal worth $1.5-1.75 million per on July 1, the reaction would have been, “Good for Kiviranta, that’s solid for him and his new team.”

So what gives? Teams don’t expect him to score 16 times again, which is fine. Even as a 10-goal guy, he’s worth more than the league minimum.

I think he’s also getting squeezed in the Summer of Smashmouth Hockey. Kiviranta is a good NHL player, a solid fit for anyone’s fourth line and even third on some clubs. But he’s not big and he’s not mean. And everyone in the NHL is trying to get bigger and meaner because the Panthers keeping winning.

He could still end up back with the Avs. Here’s one theory why he and his agent might be willing to wait — the Dallas Stars are probably still going to find a team to take Matt Dumba’s $3.75 million off their books, which will get them under the cap ceiling and leave about $2 million in space to play with.

The Stars are the other team that knows Kiviranta well. He might still be able to get a little more money — from the Avs, Stars or someone else — if he waits out the Dumba situation.

Are there any indications that the Avs might get another outdoor game appearance soon? Utah owner Ryan Smith indicated that Mammoth may be involved in an outdoor game, and the Avalanche would seem to be a logical, easily-marketable opponent.

— Keith L., Seattle

It certainly makes sense for Utah to host an outdoor game soon, just as Seattle did in 2024. And the Avalanche is the most logical opponent, to help the league try and build up something of a regional rivalry.

The TL;DR version: Yes, the Avs should play the Mammoth in an outdoor game in Utah and, yes, it could be awesome.

The two big questions would be where and when. The two candidates for where are Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City or BYU’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. They are two of the prettiest settings in college football. If you’re not a CFB fan, do a google image search. If the weather cooperates, either would be a titanic home for the NHL from a game presentation standpoint.

Rice-Eccles is in the same city as the Mammoth, but don’t rule out Provo. Edwards Stadium is bigger, and most importantly … Smith is a BYU guy. He’s the BYU guy right now, helping transform the Cougars into a potential recruiting powerhouse in both football and basketball.

When is probably less tricky. The days of the NHL hosting a Winter Classic in a major college stadium are likely over, thanks to the expanded college football playoff. As of right now, only the first round is on campus (Dec. 19-20 this coming season), but that could very well be expanded as the playoff itself grows in 2027 and beyond.

So, that means a Stadium Series game, likely in February or very early March. One question that needs to be answered — is either stadium winterized? That was the hold up for Ohio Stadium, but the expanded playoff and the ability to host games was the nudge Ohio State (and Penn State, which will also likely host an outdoor game) needed to get that done.

One final wrinkle — Rice-Eccles is going to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2034 Winter Olympics, and a big expansion/renovation is planned. When that starts could affect the NHL’s plans if it doesn’t grant the Mammoth a game in the next couple of seasons.

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Hakstol has had two stints as an NHL head coach — first with the Philadelphia Flyers and most recently with the Seattle Kraken. His Kraken squad knocked the defending champion Avalanche out of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs in a first-round upset.

“Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience behind the bench and will be a great fit on Jared’s staff,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a team statement. “He has an extensive coaching background with a lot of success and will be a valuable addition to our team.”

Before three years with the Flyers, three with the Kraken and a two year-run as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hakstol rose to fame in the coaching world at his alma mater, North Dakota. Hakstol was the head coach for 11 years and reached the Frozen Four seven times.

He was a Jack Adams Award finalist in 2023, helping the Kraken to the only playoff appearance in Seatte’s four-year history. That team defeated the Avs in seven games and then pushed the Dallas Stars to a seventh game before losing in the second round.

Hakstol replaces longtime Avs assistant Ray Bennett, who was fired after Colorado’s seven-game series loss to Dallas to end last season. Bennett, who coached the forwards and the power play, took the fall when the Avs faltered with the extra man against the Stars. They scored three times in 22 power-play opportunities.

Toronto’s power play finished tied for fifth and 16th in Hakstol’s two seasons as an assistant with the Maple Leafs. Seattle’s power play also improved in Hakstol’s second and third seasons, though never finished higher than 17th in the league.

He’ll have a significant upgrade in talent on Colorado’s power play, and an intriguing question entering training camp — will the Avs use free agent addition Brent Burns on the power play, and if so where and how? Burns was one of the best power-play defensemen in the league in his prime, but the Avs have Cale Makar and Devon Toews to run their two units, plus Samuel Girard in reserve or on the flank with Toews on PP2.

Hakstol has also coached on a pair of Team Canada staffs at the world championships, in 2017 (with Nathan MacKinnon on the team) and in 2019 (with Mackenzie Blackwood on the roster).

“I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Avalanche,” Hakstol said in a team statement. “This is a proud organization with a lot of talented players and a tremendous coaching staff led by Jared Bednar. I look forward to being a part of this special group and can’t wait to get to work and help the team in any way that I can. My family and I are also very much looking forward to being a part of this community and wonderful state of Colorado.”

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Sean Keeler: If we’re taking Bryant off the table? Anybody who’s a straight arrow knows it’s the Blue Arrow. Jamal Murray asked for the Moon, and the Nuggets paid him like an All-Star — his $51.96 million average annual value (AAV), per Spotrac.com, trails only SGA, Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Cade Cunningham and Paul George among NBA guards. He’ll take up roughly a third of Denver’s salary cap through 2029. Don’t get me wrong — Murray earned a pay bump. But his extension became a classic case of a very good player being paid to be great. And Nuggets fans are more concerned about his weight and his gait.

Renck: Jamal Murray is the answer. It is because of his money in the future, not the moments he provided in the past. Bubble Jamal was electric. Playoff Jamal, circa 2023, was special. The fact that we have to provide nicknames for his postseasons is the problem. Why can’t he just be Jamal Murray, terrific player? His inconsistency and injuries are becoming an increasing issue because he is now making max money, entering the first year of a four-year, $207.8 million contract. Here is the reality. He will be the 16th highest-paid player in the NBA this season. He is the only player in the top 27 not to make an All-Star team, leaving him almost impossible to trade.

Keeler: You could make a case for Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey and his team-high $23.8 million cap number, but any investment in Bo Nix demands an investment in his protection. The Rockies’ extensions for Kyle Freeland ($12.9 million AAV), Ryan McMahon ($11.7 million AAV), Antonio Senzatela ($10.1 million AAV), and German Marquez ($10 million AAV) haven’t aged well. Is Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog still a $7-million top 6 forward, now that you can’t “hide” that $7 million anymore? For better or worse, we’re about to find out.

Renck: Gabe Landeskog’s contract is framed around absence not performance. And he has a chance to change that this season. It is why the point cannot be stressed enough with Murray. The Nuggets need his best from the outset, not after using the first two months to get in shape. He is entering his ninth season. Coach Michael Malone is no longer around to coddle him. Time for Murray to prove he is worth elite money by delivering his best season from the first bell through the postseason.

Keeler: Let’s not forget Zeke Nnaji, a nice dude who’s nonetheless slated to take up as much cap room for the Nuggets next season ($8.1 million) by himself as Houston’s Tari Eason ($5.7 million) and Sacramento’s Keon Ellis ($2.1 million) will combined for their respective squads. Murray showed up for Adelman’s introductory news conference. Now the Arrow needs to show up for his coach in November, in January, in the dog days, on opening night, in late May — and every day in between. 

Still, he wasn’t ready to just accept the fate of being an undrafted free agent.

“I’ve been confident in my abilities and just trusting the process,” Dell’Elce said. “This year was definitely the most successful of the three. I answered a lot of the questions that were around with my first two years. So yeah, I was confident this time going into it.”

After not getting selected following his final year at St. Andrews College, a prep school north of Toronto, or when he had a successful season with the Penticton Vees in the BCHL, Dell’Elce had a strong freshman season at the University of Massachusetts.

And the Colorado Avalanche acquired a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft during the first day of the event.

The Avs have been willing to take prospects passed over before during the draft process. Ilya Nabokov had also missed out twice when Colorado selected him in the second round of the 2024 NHL draft. Same for Nikita Prishchepov, who was the 217th player selected and the third in his draft class to play in the NHL.

So, when the Avs were set to make their first pick in the 2025 draft at No. 77 overall, the Dell’Elce family gathered at home in Ontario had something to celebrate.

“I think with Fran, (he is) an older guy that we feel he’s not far off if his game keeps progressing in the right direction,” Avs scouting director Nick Prior said. “That’s exciting for us.”

Dell’Elce, who turned 20 years old a few days before the draft, led the Minutemen defense corps with seven goals and 24 points in 40 games, earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie team. He had a goal and an assist to help UMass knock off Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Dell’Elce also had a special situation he believes helped make him successful: He was paired with another freshman, Larry Keenan, a 2023 draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings. Those two also played together the year before with the Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League.

The last three freshmen to lead the team’s defense corps in scoring have all reached the NHL — Scott Morrow, Zac Jones and a pretty well-known guy in Denver, Cale Makar. The school’s list of NHL players isn’t as long as many of its Hockey East counterparts, but the group of defensemen also includes Justin Braun, Brandon Montour and Mario Ferraro.

“My success this year doesn’t happen without (UMass coach Greg Carvel),” Dell’Elce said. “I’ve learned so much since stepping onto campus at UMass. It is Defenseman U. It’s not just Makar, but a number of defensemen.”

At 6-foot-1 and 179 pounds, Dell’Elce will spend the next year or two at UMass working on his body and continuing to strengthen the defensive side of his game. He’s going to try to be the next UMass defenseman in the school’s NHL pipeline, and the Avs hope they found a late bloomer who could help the big club much sooner than an 18-year-old drafted in that slot would.

“We’re not fast-tracking him, but he’s a little bit farther along than some of the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) players we’ve taken,” Avs director of player development Brian Willsie said. “We’re excited to work with him. He’s in a really good program there at UMass. Obviously we’ve had some players come through there, so excited to see him keep developing.

“A good first impression, for sure.”

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While the Colorado Eagles were readying for a winner-take-all Game 5 of the AHL quarterfinals against the Abbotsford Canucks in late May, Sean Behrens had his own battle to wage. This would be another night where Behrens could sit and feel sorry for himself, wishing he could be on the ice with his teammates instead.

Another long night in a lost season, at least on the ice. Another test of his mental toughness.

“We talk about personal investment. This is a guy that lost an entire season in training camp,” Schneekloth, former head coach of the Eagles, said. “He’s been around the team every single day. With his rehab, with his workouts, team meetings, being with the guys — I mean, he’s invested. He’s making sure that this season isn’t a complete wash. He’s been watching all the games, working hard to make sure that he can be an impactful player next season.

“You can’t say enough about his character. Obviously, in a difficult situation, his first year pro, first NHL contract, just continue to show up and work tells you why he was a national champion at DU, tells you why he’s been a leader, been on the world junior team. Just a special kid and a special player.”

Behrens was in the middle of crafting a storybook tale.

A second-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2021 NHL draft, Behrens followed his older brother to the University of Denver. He had a decorated amateur career.

He won two national championships with the Pioneers. He played for his country in international events at the Under-17, U-18 and U-20 levels, earning an assistant captain role for the latter two teams.

Despite a diminutive frame, he became a two-way force at DU and one of the Avalanche’s top prospects. He got a taste of life in the AHL after his junior season, but made a solid impression at his first NHL training camp and headed north up I-25 for his first season as a professional.

A few days later, his season was over.

“It was just kind of a weird, weird incident, kind of a freaky play that happened,” Behrens said. “The next thing you know, my leg didn’t really work. It was a pretty humbling experience.”

Behrens was assigned to AHL camp Oct. 1, 2024. Behrens sustained a torn ACL during an Eagles practice four days after that.

Any season for a young hockey player is a critical one for development. But losing the first one as a pro could be a different level of adversity.

“He was really primed to start his professional career, and to have that taken away in an instant is tough, I think just as much or more so mentally,” Avalanche director of player development Brian Willsie said. “You’re checking in with him all the time.

“The coaches, the staff get focused on the team, but you can’t forget about the other players that are not in the lineup every night. So Aaron and his staff did a great job with that up there, including him in everything. He’s progressed well. It’s a long year. It’s just as much mental as it is getting that knee strong.”

It’s been nearly eight months since the surgery to repair Behrens’ knee. He’s been skating for a while and was back on the ice this past week for Colorado’s summer development camp.

Behrens was in a red no-contact jersey all week, but he expects to be fully ready for training camp in September.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs throughout the whole recovery, especially when I got back on the ice,” Behrens said. “It was tough for a little bit, but it’s been feeling a lot better these last couple of weeks. Hopefully, I’ll be ready for contact here pretty soon. I’m really excited for that.”

He’s still just 22 years old, but one additional forthcoming test for Behrens will again be about patience and trusting his process. While he can’t wait to get back into full team practices and begin his first season as a regular with the Eagles, he can’t try too hard to make up for lost time either.

Behrens is going to need to adjust to the pace of AHL hockey, learn how to defend bigger, more experienced players. His dream of reaching the NHL is still out there. There’s still more work to do.

He’s just happy to be doing it on the ice again. The end of his tale is still in his control.

“I kind of feel like missing last year kind of makes you want it more,” Behrens said. “It’s exciting to be back again. It’s exciting to kind of be around the team environment and be on the ice for practices again.

“I think going into next year, I feel good. Having the confidence in my knee and myself has me in a good spot. I still feel like I’m the same hockey player. Nothing has changed. It’s just rehabbing and getting back to not where it was before, but a little bit better than it was.”

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